January 14, 2019
Bangla Govt encouraging tea cultivation in Purulia
The Bangla Government has taken up an initiative to tea cultivation in the Ayodhya Hills in Purulia district and produce crush-tear-curl (CTC) tea in the next five to six years. The project has been undertaken as part of the 100 Days’ Work Scheme.
The government is taking technical assistance from IIT Kharagpur in this venture. The laterite soil of the Ayodhya Hills has been found to be ideal for tea plantation.
The Ayodhya gram panchayat has planted 16,000 tea saplings on 20 acres on the slopes of the Ayodhya Hills, in the Mirmi and Kalhay mouzas in Baghmundi block. The saplings have been supplied by the Panchayats and Rural Development Department.
The tea gardens will be operated by self-help groups, who will be given all necessary help by the government. The government has set a target to plant around 30,000 tea saplings in total.
This venture of producing tea in non-traditional areas will create a new industry opportunity in the district. The suitability of other districts like Bankura, Jhargram and Paschim Medinipur is being studied too.
Besides generating income opportunities, the venture will attract tourists too, like they do in the Darjeeling Hills.
